End of Days: Like Parent, Like Child

Psychology Professor George Holden talks about children and Chicago's plan to extend the school day.

By Tim Murphy

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel recently incurred the wrath of the city’s 颅teachers’ union when he lengthened the elementary school day, starting next year, to seven and a half hours from less than six.

One can only imagine that when those kids finally bust free, they’ll be 90 minutes crazier than schoolkids are everywhere on weekdays come 3鈥痯.m.-ish. And that 颅final-bell 颅madness can extend to parents and nannies picking them up.

“It’s a 颅challenging time of day 颅because 颅everyone is tired and people want to get home, but often children have stories to tell about what happened that day,” says George W. Holden, a 颅psychology professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and author of Parenting: A 颅Dynamic Perspective.

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